#31: Getting Justice When Your Pet Dies at the Vet

#31: Getting Justice When Your Pet Dies at the Vet

In this episode, Peter fills Camille in on the incredible animals he saw while on safari during a recent trip to Zambia, and his nomination as one of Canada’s Top 25 Most Influential Lawyers by Canadian Lawyer Magazine. (Don’t forget to vote for him!) Then, the hosts catch up on disturbing new footage from a B.C. pig farm that prompted a cruelty investigation, an exotic animal zoo with a bad history being run out of town in Ontario, the Cruelty-Free Cosmetics Act making its debut in the House of Commons, and the fur industry’s attempt to make animal advocacy a terrorist offence.

In the main segment, Camille and Peter explain how humans can seek justice when a companion animal is wrongfully injured or killed. The law has been slow to recognize the value of animals to their guardians, and still treats animals like property. Damage awards have typically been limited to the cost of replacing an animal, which doesn’t even begin to account for the sense of loss that people feel when they lose a beloved animal through negligence or other tragic means. Slowly, damages for mental distress at the loss of a pet are creeping into Canadian judgments, and this area is ripe for evolution.

Finally, this episode’s heroes are the city of Montreal and the Montreal SPCA, for their new caleche horse retirement program. And the zero is Toronto Star columnist Heather Mallick, for flippantly writing that she committed an appalling act of cruelty by stabbing a raccoon with a fork.

As always, use code PAW15 at the checkout to save 15% on your order at our sponsor Grinning Goat, Canada’s vegan fashion boutique!